Australian Gourmet Traveller - (02)February 2020 (1)

ofNomainCopenhagenandMelbourne’sVuede

Monde– hasbeenintroducinga numberofinitiatives

toreducetheamountofwasteontheislandand

developmoresustainablefoodpractices.

Clingfilmhasbeenalmostcompletelybanished

fromtheisland’skitchensandhehassetupa salt

farmtoreplacetheboxedandbaggedseasalt,which

wasbeingshippedtotheresorteachweek.Healso

workedwithresortmanagementtobuilda recycling

centre,wherealloftheisland’swasteis nowseparated

andsorted.Campbell’snewesthobbyis takingthe

greenglassbottlesoncefilledwithsparklingmineral

waterandturningthemintoartisanaltumblers,

whichwillsoonberolledoutacrosstheisland’s

threerestaurants.Bottlesarealsousedtostore

grainsanddriedgoodsinthekitchenpantries.

Meanwhile,anindustrial-sizedHotRotmachine

quicklyandefficientlyturnsfoodscrapsintocompost

fortheresort’s2.2-hectareorganicfarm,which

producesalmostalloftheisland’sfreshfruitand

vegetables.Morethan 170 free-rangechickensprovide

a constantsupplyofeggstotheresort,whileCampbell

hasalsolearnttheartofbeekeeping,becomingthe

island’sresidentapiarist.

Betweenthefarm-to-tableanddock-to-dish

initiatives,Campbellestimatesaround 90 percent

oftheisland’sfoodofferingis locallysourced.In

additiontoguestsfishingfortheirdinner,where

theyregularlyhaulina deep-seacatchbigenough

tofeedmultipleguests,Campbellworkswitha

localfishermantobringinextrasupplies.Tuna,

trout,mackerel,wahoo,mahimahi,snapperand

prawnsarejustsomeofthefreshcatchonoffer

duringourstay.ThechallengeforCampbelland

headchefCarolineOakleyis continuingtocome

upwithnewwaystoserveit.

It’sa challengetheyaremorethanupto,drawing

inspiration from around the world as they showcase

a widerangeoftechniquesandflavours.Atthe

BeachShack,whereCampbelloverseesthemenu,

theofferingchangesdailywithclevertwistson

classicdishes,suchascoconutandavocadosushi,

whichseesgrated,maturecoconutreplacericein

a delicateminiaturesushiroll.

Furtheralongtheshoreline– viaa picturesque

woodenjettythattraversestheaquamarineharbour

• youarriveat WalkerD’Plank(namedafterthe
  resort’sowner),whereyou’lldiscoverOakleyrunning
  thekitchen.TheFijian-bornchefwastaughttocook
  byherSriLankangrandmotherandbringsaninnate
  understandingandbalanceofspicetohercraft.
  Here,therearenomenus.Oakleylikestokeep
  thingslooseandwillcustomiseeverydishtoa guest’s
  personalpalate,joiningyoutablesidebeforethemeal
  toteaseoutwhatflavoursyouenjoyandthetypeof
  foodyoufeellikeeating.Beforelong,you’llbefeasting
  onsomeofyourfavouriteflavours,asa seriesofstreet
  food-inspireddisheslandonthetable.
  Andbetweencourses,you’llfindyourselfstaring
  intothehypnoticbluewatersandonceagainslipping
  intothatmostpeculiarof states: total serene and
  obscene relaxation.l

FijiAirwaysflies

directtoNadiand

Suvafromselect

Australiancities.

Privatetransfers

totheislandvia

seaplaneor

helicopterare

availablefrom

bothairports.

fijiairways.com

Stay

Privatevillas

startfrom$3245

pernightfortwo

adults,including

allmealsanda

dedicatednanny

forchildren

underthree.

kokomoisland

fiji.com

Fromtopleft:

Kokomo’sapiary;

theboardwalkto

WalkerD’Plank;

coconutsare

usedinmeals

andnaturopathy.

Opposite:the

kitchenandliving

spaceina three-

bedroom villa.

Getting

there

GOURMET TRAVELLER 133

PHOTOGRAPHY KOKOMO PRIVATE ISLAND (VILLA BEDROOM).